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Google's Celebrates the Founder of the World's Largest Network of Volunteer Ambulances

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Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Edhi dedicated his life to the poor from the age of 20, when he himself was penniless in Karachi. The spread of Edhi’s foundation grew internationally, and in 2005 the organisation raised $100,000 in aid relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Edhi was born before partition in Bantva Gujarat, India on February 28, 1928. He died last year in Karachi of renal failure. He was offered treatment abroad but insisted on being treated in a government hospital at home.

The EdhiFoundation’s slogan is: “Live and help live”.

Today would have been his 89th birthday.

In his honour, Google changed its logo in the United States, Iceland, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Estonia, UK, Denmark, Ireland and Pakistan to a doodle, or illustration, of Edhi.

The technology giant’s team has created over 2,000 doodles for homepages around the world.

“The doodle selection process aims to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries that reflect Google’s personality and love for innovation,” the company says.

With more than 1,800 ambulances stationed across Pakistan, the EdhiFoundation is Pakistan’s largest welfare organisation. In 1997, the foundation entered the Guinness World Records as the “largest volunteer ambulance organisation”.

If you call 115 in the South Asian nation, the Edhi Foundation will answer.

In his words, at the start of his work, Edhi “begged for donations” and “people gave”.

This allowed him to convert a tiny room into a medical dispensary. He also bought an ambulance that he himself drove around.

Raising more donations and enlisting medical students as volunteers, his humanitarian reach expanded across the country.

Throughout his life, Edhi emphasised the humanitarian, rather than religious, motivation for his work.

His foundation receives “zakat” (Islamic charity) donations, which he used to help Muslims, Christians and Hindus.

Asked why he helped non-Muslims, he said: “Because my ambulance is more Muslim than you.”

He also famously lamented: “People have become educated … but have yet to become human.”

When he died, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said: “Edhi was the real manifestation of love for those who are socially vulnerable, impoverished, helpless and poor. We have lost a great servant of humanity.”

Throughout his life and after he died, many questioned why Edhi never received the Nobel Peace Prize. After the nominations in 2014, the hashtag #NobelPrizeforEdhi was created. In an interview Edhi famously said that he didn’t care about the Nobel Prize and that he wanted people, he wanted the community.